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While many who buy faux leather often think of themselves as ethical buyers, the material could be polluting the oceans and killing fish, according to a BBC expert.

Patrick Grant, creative director of Saville Row tailors Norton & Sons, said 'ethical' designers like Stella McCartney who promote the use of plastic alternatives to leather are causing micro-plastics to enter our water systems.

The Great British Sewing Bee host said the designer is helping make man-made fibres fashionable, which could cause pollution.

"Eighteen years ago, she had been telling people to switch from leather to polyurethane and now the fish have it inside them," he told the Daily Mail.

Grant, who studied materials science at the University of Leeds, suggested: "Maybe we should eat less meat, but we do eat meat, so we might as well use the hides of the cows we eat rather than kill our fish."

Lets be clear, plastic itself should not be vilified, it is a wonderful material that performs lots of vital functions (viz medicine, food, engineering). Its the way we consume it and dispose of it that is the problem. We've got to end rampant disposable consumerism.

Although the designer uses high-end materials, he worries that she has made these fibres fashionable for cheaper brands to use.

He explained: "Stella McCartney’s business is her business and almost certainly Stella is using the very best alternatives, but the problem is that all the people that have seen what she’s doing have copied her and polyurethane has taken off as an alternative to leather. But it is bad s***: the way it’s made and the way it doesn’t biodegrade."

In response to the problem of micropollution, campaigners have asked consumers to buy better-quality clothing for long-term use, rather than taking part in the "fast fashion" trend.

Friends of the Earth plastic campaigner, Emma Priestland said: “It’s been estimated that clothes washing causes 1,600 tonnes of plastic micropollution to be washed into UK rivers and oceans every year.

“With so many people realising the harm that both leather and plastic can have on our planet, maybe the leather-look has finally had its day?

“And of course we can all help by choosing good quality clothing that we wear for years - not just months.”

A Stella McCartney spokesperson said: "While we use polyurethane and polyester as an alternative to leather in our products at Stella McCartney, research to date shows that the primary issues for concern to the ocean is from microfiber shedding which cause pollution (including ocean waste). But microfibre shedding mostly occurs during the machine washing of garments – none of the Stella McCartney faux leather products are machine washable so avoids this issue which can happen during the care of the product.

"Faux leathers are not perfect but they are lower impact to produce, can be recycled and cruelly free. We are working on new alternatives that we think are the best way forward, things like Bolt Thread’s MYLO material which is natural, biodegradable and low impact. We also use ECONYL® a regenerated (recycled) nylon that is made from fishing nets as well as factory waste considered to be the most sustainable option for recycled nylon."